“What do you think?”

After Karin returned to her room, Magda asked her husband, looking at him.

“With her liking it that much, how could I possibly say no?”
Heinrich murmured, then fell into thought.

There was no denying it—the House of Stautte was an impeccable match for a marriage alliance.
Power, wealth, prestige. In every respect.

Julian Stautte, now twenty-three this year, was likewise regarded as a flawless heir worthy of the ducal house’s standing. Not only in terms of ability, but also in his personal relationships and private life. There were even rumors that his striking looks alone were enough to unsettle the hearts of countless women in high society.

There was only one blemish: the fact that Julian was born out of wedlock.

Julian’s father, Duke Franz Stautte, had never had a child with his wife. Using that as a pretext, he divorced her and remarried the current duchess—but even then, no heir was born. Concluding that the cause of the infertility lay with himself, Franz adopted a relative’s child named Boris.

Franz had a mistress.
Countess Annamarie of Tille had been romantically involved with him before his marriage, and after losing her husband early, she had lived alone. Then, about a year after Boris was adopted, Annamarie became pregnant. Franz believed her claim that the child was his, formally entered the child into the House of Stautte, and named him the heir.

That child was Julian.

There had once been rumors circulating in society that Julian might not actually be Franz’s son. But as Julian grew older, those whispers gradually faded—because he grew up to be the spitting image of Franz himself.

For Heinrich, whose moral standards were higher than most, such a past could not possibly sit well with him. It wasn’t merely because Julian was a child born of an affair. More than that, no matter how he looked at it, the Duke of Stautte—who had brought the boy into the ducal house without the slightest shame and boldly named him heir—left a bad taste in his mouth.

‘That must be the reason they chose us as well.’

There was no doubt that the Duke of Stautte had judged that forging ties with the highly respected House of Panzner would offset the blemish of Julian’s birth.

He didn’t like the idea of being used that way—but beyond that, the very notion of becoming in-laws with an overwhelming family like the House of Stautte sat poorly with him.

Personally, Heinrich had hoped that Karin’s future husband would be a sincere, upright man with good character, rather than someone backed by such an extraordinary pedigree. More than anything, he wished for his daughter to meet a man she truly loved and to have a happy marriage.

Ironically, that was precisely why he hadn’t been able to reject the proposal from Julian outright.

Ever since Karin had made her debut into high society, she had been caught in a fervent, unwavering one-sided love for Julian.

***

Karin still remembered the day she first met Julian with vivid clarity.

Because she had only just made her debutante debut at the time, Karin went everywhere with her mother. For Magda, who had been physically frail since long ago, the return to active social life after so many years seemed exhausting. Both Heinrich and Karin voiced their concern, but Magda remained firm, insisting that she could not let her only daughter spend her first season without her mother at her side.

“Are you all right, Mother? If you’re tired, let’s go home.”

It was an evening banquet that ran late into the night. Seeing how pale Magda looked, Karin held onto her mother’s arm and spoke softly. But Magda shook her head.

“No, I’m fine. We’ve only just arrived.”

“But—”

“Don’t worry. More importantly, there are so many people I need to introduce you to. Let’s see—Countess Michelsen was somewhere over there earlier…”

Magda scanned the room and began to lead the way. Then, as if she had misstepped, she suddenly swayed—and collapsed to the floor.

“Mother!”

Startled, Karin rushed to support Magda.

“I’m fine. It’s just a bit of dizziness,” Magda said, waving her hand. But despite her words, she was unable to get back up easily. A murmur spread through the room as people began to gather around them.

Karin was holding her mother, at a loss for what to do—

when she heard the voice of an unfamiliar man behind her.

“Are you all right?”

It was a low voice, one that seemed to resonate deep within her. Before Karin could respond or even turn around, she sensed the man bending closer. In that instant, she involuntarily caught her breath.

She smelled perfume.
A rich yet refreshing scent—mature, unmistakably adult.

It wasn’t that she disliked it. It was simply unfamiliar. Until then, aside from her family and servants, no man had ever come this close to her. Enveloped in that strange scent, Karin felt like a newborn kitten opening its eyes in a new home, unsure of what to do. Slowly, cautiously, she turned her head to the side.

And quite literally lost her soul.

She swore it was the most perfect, most beautiful profile she had seen in her entire life. Beneath neatly swept-back blond hair stretched a smooth line of forehead; past the gentle contour between his brows rose a straight, proud bridge of a nose. His eyelashes were so long and thick they scarcely seemed believable on a man, and beneath them, blue eyes shone—more beautiful than any jewel she had seen at the banquet that night, holding a light brighter than any chandelier. His lips were sensuous, red and vivid with life, though there was no way he could be wearing rouge.

“If you don’t mind, I can help you up.”

The man extended his hand toward Magda as he spoke.

For a moment, a complicated light—embarrassment mixed with hesitation—flickered in Magda’s eyes. But soon, she nodded and took his hand.

The man helped Magda to her feet smoothly, with hardly any visible effort. Karin came back to herself a beat later and hurriedly took hold of her mother’s arm.

“Are you able to walk?”

“Yes. I think so. I’m all right now. My daughter’s here with me as well. Thank you—I’ve imposed on you.”

“Not at all. Then, if you’ll excuse me.”

The man bowed politely to Magda, then offered the same courteous greeting to Karin. The moment his eyes met hers, it felt as though her heart stopped—but Karin hastily bowed her head in return.

“Ah—um, thank you!”

She called out belatedly toward his back. Then she stood there, staring after his retreating figure with a spellbound expression.

A moment later, Karin realized something.

She wasn’t the only one looking at him like that.

Nearly every woman in the ballroom had their eyes fixed on him, as though he alone commanded the entire room’s attention.

“That gentleman is….”

“He’s Young Duke Julian Stautte.”

Karin turned to look at her mother.

“Young Duke… Stautte?”

Magda nodded. Though Karin had only just entered high society, even she knew how formidable the House of Stautte was.

And yet, despite being the heir to such a powerful ducal family, he was so kind and gentlemanly.

The fact that it wasn’t Karin he had helped, but her mother, left an even deeper impression. Perhaps it was because, since entering society, she had already seen far too many men whose attitudes changed completely only in front of young women.

And on top of that—an appearance like a god from myth.

Julian Stautte.

Karin murmured the name blankly to herself. Perhaps even his name was perfect. She couldn’t think of a single word in the imperial language that carried a more beautiful resonance.

It was a first love that came like a sunshower—
with no time to find a roof to shelter beneath, Karin was drenched from head to toe, utterly helpless.